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Music

“Where words leave off, Music begins” – Heinrich Heine

At Royds School we take pride and value in the Performing Arts. As part of our broad and balanced curriculum within Drama and Music, we enrich the lives of students and prepare them for their future. We passionately believe that all students should have the chance to study these subjects.

As well as timetabled lessons, we offer performance opportunities such as the school production, the Christmas Concert, community events and the Royds Oscars, which showcases and celebrates student achievement within the Performing Arts throughout the year. We are committed to producing whole school productions so that students can build working relationships with others in all year groups and consolidate core British Values. In addition to our varied extra-curricular programmes we also arrange educational visits. Recently, students have been to see Blood Brothers, Tomorrow I’ll Be Twenty, Woman In Black and Wicked.

Who teaches my child?

Mrs Clethero

Miss Gaynor

Key Stage 3

What will my child be taught?All students in Years 7 and 8 are taught Music weekly and have further opportunities to develop their skills through extracurricular activities and instrumental lessons. Based on performance, composition and listening, lessons are predominantly practical and encourage students to develop themselves as musicians over a range of instruments and technologies. Towards the end of Year 8 students are encouraged to develop their ensemble skills and are often encouraged to take up an instrument in preparation for GCSE, developing their performance and composition skills further.

In Year 7 students are introduced to the basics of rhythm, pitch and notation using different musical elements to create and perform their own Music. They will also develop Keyboard skills to be utilised within performance and composition topics. Over the year students will also develop ensemble skills and study topics such as Music Technology, music of other cultures (Chinese Music and Reggae) and song writing.

In Year 8 a stronger emphasis is placed on developing ensemble skills with opportunities to try new instruments such as Bass Guitar, Guitar and Drum Kit. Students will also study topics such as The Blues, Hip Hop, Music and the Media and Music Technology.

How will my child be assessed?
Students are assessed over a variety of performance, composition and listening tasks so that we have an accurate reflection of their ability over the full range of the subject. Students are marked in line with GCSE criteria to help them choose their options at the end of the year and have the opportunity to reflect on their progress and improve through ‘Step It Up’ tasks. Students will also peer assess the work of others to show their own understanding of success criteria.

How can I support my child’s learning at home?
In Year 7, students are encouraged to attend extracurricular activities to enhance their performance skills. In addition, students will receive other short homework tasks that consolidate learning in lesson.
Year 8 students are given homework projects which link to the Music curriculum.

We encourage, where possible, students to practice at home. They also have the opportunity to take home sheet music and/or practice out of lesson time.

Key Stage 4

What will my child be taught?
At Key Stage 4, students have the opportunity to study GCSE Music, an option which continues to grow in popularity. We currently follow the AQA syllabus in which there are three key areas:

Understanding Music (40%)

Performing Music (30%)

Composing Music (30%)

‘Understanding Music’ comprises of a listening exam (one and a half hours) in which students listen to a wide range of music spanning ‘The Western Classical Tradition 1650-1910’, ‘Popular Music’, ‘Traditional Music’ and ‘The Western Classical Tradition since 1910’. In lessons students will develop their listening skills and musical vocabulary and how to apply this in the examination context.

Students also need to compose two pieces of music, one free composition in any style and one to a set brief. Students will develop their composing skills through short practical exercises building up to longer pieces using more complex techniques which they learn in class and have the opportunity to record these pieces using our Music Technology suite and/or using traditional notation. Students must also be aware of the composition process and be able to discuss the ideas they have chosen through a written appraisal.

The performance aspect of the course is supported by our visiting instrumental teachers who have vast experience in helping students prepare for their exams. Students will have ‘practical’ lessons to build their performance and ensemble skills and must complete both a solo and an ensemble exam performance by the end of the course.

This is a vital area of GCSE Music and it is therefore advisable that students are having instrumental lessons by the start of the course.

How will my child be assessed?
By the end of the course your child will have completed both a solo and ensemble performance (30% in total), have written two compositions (30% in total) and completed a listening exam paper (worth 40%). Your child’s progress will be assessed throughout the year through shorter compositional exercises with verbal and written feedback in their progress booklets. They will also complete a performance at the end of each term to ensure progress is being made on their instrument and that they are performing at the correct standard needed for this element of the course.

How can I support my child’s learning at home?
Students should regularly attend instrumental lessons (which can be arranged in school) and we thank parents/carers for your support in this crucial area. Students who have instrumental/vocal lessons have the best opportunity to make the necessary progress within Music at GCSE. Alongside this students should regularly practice on their instrument (or voice). It is advised that students practice at least 15 minutes per day though longer would be of benefit. Students may also develop ideas for composition that can then be utilised in school.

Students should be encouraged to listen to a wide range of music and apply key words from the areas of study covered in lesson to the pieces they are listening to. Key Stage 4 GCSE Music students have regular listening homework tasks.